NAAT may join NASU, SSANU strike over salary arrears, issues ultimatum

Strike continues till govt meets our demands, SSANU insists
The entire non-teaching staff members may be on strike in federal universities, as the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has indicated readiness to embark on strike from November 13, 2024.

NAAT will join the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) already on strike over withheld salaries.

President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, insisted there was no going back on the strike until their demands were met.

NAAT President, Ibeji Nwokoma, after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, yesterday, disclosed that despite Tinubu’s waiver and approval to pay five half-month salaries owed NAAT members, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had yet to implement the directive.

Nwokoma stated, “Consequent upon the above, the union, having reviewed the situation critically, decided to give the Federal Government an additional two weeks, with effect from October 30, 2024. Meanwhile, the NEC has directed all her branches in universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education to hold a nationwide protest to drive home our demands.

“Within the two-week ultimatum, branches have been directed to hold congresses and conduct a referendum to decide if the union will proceed on strike once the ultimatum expires on November 13, 2024. If at the end of the ultimatum, there is no positive response from the government, the union will embark on a national protest, which will culminate into a total and indefinite strike without recourse to the government.”

The association noted that its decision was in line with its concern for the tertiary education system, so as not to disrupt the academic calendar, which will affect research and practical teaching, laboratory, workshop, farm and studio practices and the attendant monumental loss of resources.

NASU, SSANU and NAAT members went on strike on March 21, 2022, which ended in August 2022 as a result of industrial disagreement with the Federal Government. The government subsequently withheld salaries for the months the workers did downed tools adopting a ‘no work, no pay’ policy.

NAAT handed down a three-week ultimatum effective from September 30, 2024, to demand the payment of the withheld salaries.

NAAT stressed that it made several efforts to get the withheld salaries from the government to no avail; hence, the threat to embark on a strike.

SPEAKING on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’, yesterday, Ibrahim said, “So, it is not the issue of meeting. The issue is that we want payment and that every procedure has been followed. They can simply direct this payment and, I assure you, in less than 24 hours, we can just refer to our principals and this strike will be suspended.

“Assurances from politicians and government officials are not new to us.”

But the mandate that we have from our members is that this strike is indefinite, and we will only resume when we get the alerts.”

The unions’ move has led to the crippling of activities across public universities in Nigeria with classes and other facilities shut.